Cable-laying plow



Aug. 25, 1959 H. 1.. LISLE CABLE-LAYING PLOW 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 7, 1955 \NMQUW QR INVENTOR. hw/y L Lia/e V flffarmfyai Aug. 25, 1959 H. 1.. LISLE CABLE-LAYING PLOW 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 7. 1955 Q |l|.| lll gm lll w mm fi INVENTOR. Henry 1. Lia/e BY ihJ W Affomcyu.

25, H. L. LISLE 2,900,931

CABLE-LAYING PLOW Filed Sept. 7, 1955 v 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 46 Fig. I;

INVENTOR. f/d/zlyl. 111/? 14 ffar/reyJ.

Aug. 25, 1959 H. L. LISLE CABLE-LAYING PLOW 4 sheets-sheet 4 Filed Sept. 7, 1955 k R. w- W 2/ V f w m m z 1 n Affwweys.

R 444 ii.

2,900,931 Patented Aug. 25, 1959 ice CABLE-LAYING PLOW Henry L. Lisle, Lamar, Mo., assignor to Frank Horton, doing business as Frank Horton & Company, Lamar, Mo. 1

Application September 7, 1955, Serial No. 532,892

2 Claims. (Cl. 111-5) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in apparatus for laying underground cable, such as telephone cable, and has particular reference to a device of this general category which may be designated a plow.

The principal object of this invention is the provision of an apparatus of the class described which is rapid in operation, being capable of digging a trench and laying cable therein at the rate of several miles per hour.

Another object is the provision of an apparatus of the class described wherein the trench or slit in which the cable is laid is very narrow, being scarcely wider than the diameter of the cable itself. In this way, the disturbance of the earth is reduced to a minimum and the slit may be closed simply by driving a heavy truck or vehicle thereover. Besides the speed and economy thereby provided, a cable may be laid, for example, across or along a roadway without closing the road to trafiic.

A further object is the provision of a plow of the character described which normally has free universal attachment to a towing vehicle, so as to trail freely and lay cable at a uniform depth around corners, over hills, and across gulleys or ditches, and also having means whereby the attachment may be locked to prevent vertical movement of the plow, whereby to hold the plow down against any tendency to climb when, for example, it is pulled around corners or the line of draft thereon is inclined upwardly.

Other objects are simplicity and economy -of construction, efliciency and dependability of operation, flexibility of usage, and adjustability to lay cable at various depths.

With these objects in view, as well as other objects which will appear in the course of the specification, reference will be had to the drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal, vertical mid-sectional view of a cable-laying plow embodying the present invention, shown mounted on a tractor,

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line IIII of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line III-III of Fig. '1, with parts left in elevation,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view taken on line IVIV of Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line V-V of Fig. 1,

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on line VI--VI of Fig. 1,

Fig. 7 is a sectional View taken on line VII-VII of Fig. 1,

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on line VHI--VIII of Fig. 1,

Fig. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on line IX-IX of Fig. 1,

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line XX of Fig.9, and

Figs. 11 and 12 are enlarged sectional views taken respectively on lines XI-X[ and XIIXII of Fig. 1.

Like reference numerals apply to similar parts throughout the several views, and the numeral 2 applies to a plow frame which is generally planar and formed of tubular material, comprising a pair of parallel side members 4 extending from front to rear, and a central memher 6 disposed intermediate and parallel toside members 4. The forward end portions of members 4 are bent inwardly and welded or otherwise fixed to central member 6. A rectangular box-beam 8 extends transversely of the plow, and is aflixed to the rearward ends of side members 4.

Forwardly of beam 8, a shaft 10 extends across the frame parallel to said beam, said shaft being Welded or otherwise fixed at its ends in side members 4, and at its midpoint in central member '6. Mounted oscillatably on said shaft at each side of central member 6 is a sleeve 12. Afiixed to each of said sleeves and extending radially therefrom is an arm 14, and at the outer end of said arm a Wheel 16 is carried for rotation on an axis parallel to shaft 10. Wheels 16 are coaxial, and engage the ground .to support the tractor frame in some instances, as will be described. At its inner end each sleeve 12 is provided with a fixed radial crank 18, the outer ends of said cranks being connected by a pin 20. The piston rod 22 ofhydraulic cylinder 24 is pivotally connected to pin 20, and the cylinder itself is pivoted at 26 to lugs 28 welded to frame 2 (see Fig. 6). Cylinder 24 is doubleacting, it being operable to be selectively extended or retracted by delivering fluid under pressure to either end thereof by a suitable means (not shown), whereby to raise or lower wheels 16 and thereby raise or lower frame 2 to any desired elevation above the ground.

Central frame member 6 is forwardly extended, and a pair of hitch plates 30 aredisposed at opposite sides thereof in parallel vertical planes, and are pivoted thereto bymeans of transverse horizontal pin 32. Forwardly of pin 32, a bolt 34 parallel to pin .32extends through member'6, and selectively through any one of a series of sets of matching holes 36 formed in plates 30. Thus the hitch plates may be pivoted vertically to any of several elevations, and there afiixed by bolt 34. A block 38 is welded between the forwardly extended ends of said hitch plates, and a bolt 40 is carried therein for axial swivelling movement and is disposed horizontally in the line of movement of the plow The forward end of said bolt is .aflixed in a block 42which is pivoted on pin 44 betweenthearms of a yoke 46, pin 44 being horizontal and transverse to the midlineof the plow. Yoke 4.6 .is pivotally connected by vertical hitch pin 48 to the .drawbar Sil of the tractor, a portion of the body of which is shown fragmentarily at 52. Drawbars of this type are commonly attached at their forward ends to the tractor body for pivotal movement in a horizontal plane.

A bracket 54 is securely fixed to the rearward end of tractor body 52, as by screws 56, and carries at its upper end a pivot pin 58 which is coaxial with the normal position of hitch pin 48. Pivoted on pin 58 is a connector fitting 60, to which a hydraulic cylinder 62 is pivoted at 64, saidpivot being at right angles to pin 58. Cylinder 62 slopes downwardly to the rear, and the piston rod 66 associated therewith is pivotally connected at 68 to a bracket 70 welded to frame 2. Said cylinder is doubleacting, being operable in either direction. by delivering fluid under pressure selectively to opposite ends thereof.

Central frame member 6 terminates forwardly of box beam 8, and a plate 72 is Welded to the rearward end thereof, said plate being transverse to the midline. of the plow and sloping downwardly and rearwardly. A pair of channel irons 74 are welded 'at their forward ends to plate 72, and attheir rearward ends to box beam 8. The webs of said channels are parallel, vertical, and spaced apart, and the flanges thereof extend outwardly. A runner plate 76 is attached tothe lower side of central frame member 6, and lies in a vertical plane whereby to gauge the operating depth of the plow as will be described.

The plow blade 78 is affixed between channels 74 and slopes rearwardly and downwardly. It comprises a pair of side plates 80 disposed in spaced apart vertical planes parallel to the midline of the plow, a cutting edge member 82 welded to the forward edges of said side plates, and a tube 84 welded to the rearward edges of said side plates (see Figs. 11 and 12). Said side plates extend upwardly between channels 74, and are releasably secured therebetween' by bolts 86. The cutting edge member 82 1s curved forwardly at its lower portion. as shown 1n F g. 1, in order to provide suction which assists in holding the blade down to its set depth and resists the tendency thereof to climb out of the ground. Tube 84 extends at its upper end approximately level with the tops of channels 74, and terminates at its lower end above the lower end of the blade. A pair of bearing plates 88 are aflixed as by rivets 90 to side plates 80 at the lower ends thereof, and extend rearwardly therefrom. A sheave wheel 92 is journalled rotatably between the rearward extensions of plates 88 on axle 94.

A cable guide box 96 is carried on the upper edges of channels 74. Said box comprises a pair of side walls 98 forming upward extensions of the webs of channels 74, and a front wall 100 and rear wall 102 welded to said side walls. The lower edges of side walls 98 are each provlded with an outwardly, turned flange 104 (see Fi s. 810), which rests on the upper flange 106 of the associated channel 74, and is adjustably secured thereto by a pan of bolts 108. Said bolts extend through elongated slots 110 found in flanges 104, whereby the guide box 96 may be shifted forwardly and rearwardly.

In the upper rear portion of box 96, a sheave wheel 112 is journalled rotatably between side walls 98 on axle 114. A second sheave wheel 116 is carried on an axle 118 extending between side walls 98 in the lower forward portlon of box 96. Axle 118 is carried in slots 120 formed in side walls 98, said slots being forwardly and rearwardly elongated to permit transverse movement of sa1d axle. Said axle is journalled also in a yoke 122 carried slidably .between side walls 98. A screw 124 is attached rotatably to said yoke and extends forwardly through and is threaded in front wall 100 of the guide box, whereby sheave wheel 116 may be moved forwardly or rearwardly as desired.

A reel 126 carrying the cable 128 to be laid is disposed above guide box 96, being mounted rotatably on an axle 130 the end portions of which rest releasably in a pair of cradle members 132 (Figs. 3 and 4) welded respectively to the upper ends of a pair of standards 134 which are affixed at their lower ends to box beam 8, and braced by angled struts 136.

In o eration, the cable 128 passes downwardly from reel 126 between guide wheels 112 and 116, thence downwardly through tube-84 and around sheave wheel 92. and thence along the bottom of the slit on trench 136 which is formed in the ground by blade 78 as the plow is drawn forwardly. The cable is drawn through the tube and around the sheave wheels by the weight and friction of the portion thereof previously laid in the trench. Sheave wheels 112 and 116 serve to straighten the cable as it leaves the reel, and to guide it accurately into the upper end of tube 84. The position of said wheels relative to the tube, in order to guide it accurately into the tube, is dictated by the diameter, weight, and character of the particular cable being laid, and is hence subject to variation. This may be accomplished by loosening bolts 108 and sliding the entire guide box 96 forwardly or rearwardly, and by operating screw-124 to move sheave wheel 116 forwardly or rearwardly. It will be apparent that the ground trench 138 need be only slightly wider than the diameter of the cable itself, so that the cable may be covered easily and rapidly by driving a heavy vehicle over the trench to collapse the walls thereof.

It is contemplated that the plow be used With an interchangeable set of blades 96, the blades being adapted to lay cable of different diameters, or at different depths. Said blades are easily changed simply by removing bolts 86. Hence the inclination of the frame, and the draft angle thereon, need not be changed to vary the cable depth. The runner 76 therefore normally rides along the ground to act as a depth gauge. The adjustability of hitch plates 30 about pin 32 provides that the draft face may be parallel to the ground and to the plane of frame 2, even when the plow is attached to tractors having different drawbar elevations. Within a limited range, however, or for momentary deviationsfrom normal cable depth, the cable depth may be adjusted by operating hydraulic cylinder 24 to extend wheels 16 below the lower edge of runner 76, whereby to raise the blade partially out of the ground. When wheels 16 are fully lowered, they support the blade entirely above the ground, for transportation by towing. a

When the plow is being operated in a straight line over terrain with only slight changes in grade, the suction provided by the forward curvature of blade edge 82 is normally suflicient to hold the blade at its set depth.

Thus there is normally no pressure applied to cylinder I 62, and the control valves (not shown) are set to allow free floating movement of the piston. However, under certain conditions there may be a tendency for the blade to climb to shallower depths. This may occur, for example, when the tractor is traversing gu-lleys or starting up inclines, so that the draft line slopes upwardly from the plane of frame 2, or when the plow is being drawn around a turn. Under these conditions, pressure is applied in the upper end of cylinder 62, whereby to hold the plow down to its set depth.

While I have shown and described a specific embodiment of my invention, it will be apparent that many minor changes of structure and operation may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A cable-laying plow comprising a frame, means for attaching said frame to a tractor to be towed over the ground, said attaching means comprising a universal connection including a vertically disposed pivot pin, whereby to permit pivotal movement of said frame in horizontal and vertical planes, a bracket adapted to be affixed to said tractor, a single double-acting power member, universal connecting means securing one end of said power member to said bracket and including a pivot pin coaxial with said vertically disposed pin, pivot means connecting the other end of said power member to the frame, whereby said power member is thus adapted to support an axial compressive force and said frame may be selectively References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,602,399 Ekman Oct. 12, 1926 2,155,044 Gray et a1 Apr. 18, 1939 2,254,324 Sjogren et al Sept. 2, 1941 2,501,062 Le Tourneau Mar. 21, 1950 2,503,597 Rodder Apr. 11, 1950 2,629,305 Schenewolf Feb. 24, 1953 2,663,515 Kinsinger Dec. 22, 1953 2,755,721 Rusconi July 24, 1956 

